Readers Recall Babson Landmarks

I enjoyed your article on lost monuments [spring issue, “A Tour Through History”]. The one that most intrigues me was the burned-at-the-stake monument [by Coleman Hall]. I was born and raised in Gloucester, Mass., Roger Babson’s hometown, and that monument has an identical twin there. It’s located on the property of the Trinity Congregational Church. —Joe Senos ’00

I remember an explanation that the bird structure [by Park Manor South] is actually a hand facing up. Notice that each of the fingers and thumb is the proper relative dimensions. —Jeff Mulligan ’82, MBA’85

Your article brought to mind another forgotten marker. In 1974, I was a senior contemplating life after Babson. I had taken a career aptitude test that indicated I was suited for a job as a Navy chaplain. My lifelong fascination with things nautical and my evangelical Christian persuasion had doubtlessly influenced the test results. Although I had been involved in the Babson Christian Fellowship, I had not the slightest interest in going into full-time ministry. I needed a proverbial “sign from heaven.”

One day I came across a plaque in an obscure corner of the old Newton Library [now Tomasso Hall]. The plaque commemorated that Babson had been the site of the U.S. Navy Supply Corps School during World War II. I had never heard of the Navy Supply Corps before, but I learned that Supply Corps officers were the Navy’s professional business managers. I was intrigued by the prospect of combining my Babson education with my childhood dream of serving in the Navy. After talking with a recruiter, I applied and was accepted into the Naval Officer Candidate School and Navy Supply Corps programs. A week after graduating, I began an exciting and satisfying career. —Matthew Bonk ’75